A SEMINAR PAPER

ON
STATES OF ONLINE BUSINESS
IN SYLHET REGION

Department of Business Administration

SHAHJALAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY, SYLHET

1
 A SEMINAR PAPER
ON
STATES OF ONLINE BUSINESS IN SYLHET REGION

Course Title: Seminar and Viva Voce

Course Code: BUS 100
SUBMITTED TO:
Prof. Mazharul Hasan Mazumder , PhD
Chairman of 1st year 2nd Semester Examination Committee
Department of Business Administration
Shahjalal University of Science &Technology, Sylhet

SUPERVISED BY:
Dr Mosaddak Ahmed Chowdhury
Professor and Head
Department of Business Administration
Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet

SUBMITTED BY:
Name Registration No.
SALMA SULTANA 2018731001
MD OHIDUZZAMAN ANIK 2018731028
SHAHILA CHOWDHURY 2018731031
MD ILIAS ALI 2018731041
TASNIN BINTE ABDUR RAHIM 2018731049

Department of Business Administration

Shahjalal University of Science &Technology, Sylhet

2
 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
JANUARY 2020
To
Dr Mosaddak Ahmed Chowdhury
Professor and Head
Department of Business Administration
Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet

Subject: Submission of the seminar paper.

Dear Sir,
We were assigned to prepare under your direct supervision on “States of Online Business in Sylhet
district” as the study part of the 2 credit course BUS-100.
We have tried to collect all possible information and make this paper acceptable but still there can
be mistakes. We assure you that we did not take any unfair means to prepare the paper. Finally,
we would like to request you to observe and accept our paper and forward us to present it before
the chairman of examination committee.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely yours,
NAME REG. NO SIGNATURE
SALMA SULTANA 2018731001
MD OHIDIZZAMAN ANIK 2018731028
SHAHILA CHOWDHURY 2018731031
MD ILIAS ALI 2018731041
TASNIM BINTE ABDUR 2018731049
RAHIM

3
 LETTER OF CERTIFICATE

January, 2020
I am very pleased to declare that the group of students from the Department of Business
Administration, 21stBatch, Session 2018-19, Reg.no. 2018731001 2018731028, 2018731031,
2018731041, 2018731049, was given this topic “States of Online Business in Sylhet district” for
conducting a seminar paper as part of their BBA program. They have reviewed all the literature
and sources for collection of both primary and secondary data and they have done their assigned
task. I have supervised them throughout the preparation of the paper.

I also certify that the paper is an original one and has not been submitted elsewhere previously for
publication in any form.

I wish them all the best.

………………………………………………….

Dr Mosaddak Ahmed Chowdhury

Professor and Head
Department of Business Administration
Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

By the grace of Almighty we have successfully completed the research on “States of Online
Business in Sylhet district”. A number of individuals have contributed to this effort. To name only
a few of them would be a farce, instead, we express our sincere gratefulness to all of them.
We want to express a special gratitude from our core of heart to our research supervisor Dr
Mosaddak Ahmed Chowdhury (Professor and Head, Department of Business Administration,
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet) for his valuable suggestions and supports,
which gave us the spirit to work. The help of our supervisor was the key contribution to prepare
our research.
Our special thanks to all of them who helped us and inspired us.

Name Registration No.

SALMA SULTANA 2018731001
MD OHIDUZZAMAN ANIK 2018731028
SHAHILA CHOWDHURY 2018731031
MD ILIAS ALI 2018731041
TASNIM BINTE ABDUR RAHIM 2018731049

5
 Executive Summary

Online businesses account for a significant portion of all businesses in both developed and
developing economies. With the constant evolution and technological advancements in the
business landscape, it has become necessary that studies should focus on different factors and on
distinct types of online businesses. This study named “Online Business” describes a systematic
review of the literature that addresses online based businesses used in Sylhet region. For
completing the seminar paper, we have collected necessary secondary data. We have also
developed a questionnaire structure to collect primary data. The collected data has been presented
on diagram. We did the survey on Sylhet region among university students. We found that online
business is getting more popular in Sylhet region day by day. Besides, this sector is getting more
support and investment. As we weren’t experienced about such survey, we faced some challenges.
As per data, we found that the business is getting attention from their potential customers in Sylhet
district. Customers are quite satisfied with their services. After analyzing the collected data, we
recommend that service providers should increase their product or service qualities and maintain
good relationship with their customers. This business is growing and it will increase the economic
condition of Bangladesh.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One- Introduction 1.1 Background of the study

1.1.1 What is online business
1.1.2 Inception of online business- Worldwide
perspective & Bangladesh perspective
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.3 Methodology of the study
1.4 Scope of the study
Chapter Two- Sectors Sectors of online business:
specification of online business 2.1 Food
2.2 Transport
2.3 Shopping
2.4 Money transfer
2.5 Entertainment
2.6 E-education
2.7 Freelancing
Chapter Three- Operational 3.1 Investment
background 3.2 Security
3.3 Manpower
3.4 Prospect
3.5 Challenges
3.6 Quality
Chapter Four – Sector wise Data 4.1 Sector wise analysis
Analysis

Chapter Five- Sector wise 5.1 Sector wise findings

Findings

Chapter Six- Recommendations 6.1 Recommendations

and Conclusion 6.2 Conclusion

Reference
Questionnaire

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 CHAPTER-ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

1.1.1 What is online business?
1.1.2 Inception of online business – Worldwide perspective and Bangladesh perspective
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.3 Methodology of the study
1.4 Scope of the study

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1.1 Background of the study
1.1.1 What is Online Business?
Online business is any kind of business or commercial transaction that includes sharing
information across the internet.

Online business also referred to as electronic business or e-business is any kind of business activity
that happens online or over the internet.
The term e-business was coined by IBM’s marketing and internet team in 1996.
A business owner who does any or all of their business using their internet, is running an online
business. Running an online business can include buying and selling online and providing an
online service. Goods or services are marketed, viewed, purchased, and delivery is organized
thereafter once the order has been placed and paid for. A wide variety of businesses can be found
online in many different industries. Often the business never touches or sees the product as they
are provided and shipped by the manufacturer or wholesaler. This is known as “Drop Shipping”
and business is commonly conducted as an “Affiliate” and you do not even need to buy the stock
yourself. The wholesaler will post to the customer with a label on naming you as the supplier.

If you have an unalive product or idea you can find a way to sell or trade it online. Such as food
panda. It’s an unalive app that basically delivers food to customers home at a certain period of
time. Customers need to order it online.

1.1.2 Inception of Online Business- World wide perspective and Bangladesh perspective

Nowadays the thought of living without e-commerce seems unfathomable, complicated and an
inconvenience to many. It wasn’t until only a few decades ago that the idea of e-business had been
appeared. The history of e-business started over 20 years ago. Online business only became
possible when the internet was opened to the public in 1991. With the advent of the World Wide
Web or the web, traditional business organizations that had relied on catalog sales had anew sales
vector. Other businesses found that the web was a good place to put customer service information,
such as manuals and drivers, as well as a place to help create a consistent corporate image.
Amazon.com was one of the first e-commerce sites in the US to start selling products online and
thousands of businesses have followed since.

Online business was invented and Pioneered by Michael Aldrich in the United Kingdom. He
connected a modified domestic television via a telephone line to a real-time multi-user transaction
processing computer. The system then mainly offered business-to-business systems that were sold
in the UK, Ireland, and Spain.

In 1996 IBM with its agency Ogilvy and Mather began to use its foundation and started conducting
business on the internet through the term “e-business”.

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World wide perspective-
As there are many benefits of online business-like global access, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
faster delivery, it has become more famous all over the world. However, there are a number of
disadvantages too. Such as lack of interaction, support system and internet connectivity.

There are so many famous online businesses all over the world. From all of these businesses
Amazon, Alibaba are most famous online business.
As the world is becoming more computer based, especially online based. There are many jobs
people are doing over online. Most of the people are purchasing product over online or selling
product online.
Online business has become very vital for many businesses to reach out to larger markets at
cheaper costs unlike before.
Bangladesh perspective-
Online business is booming in Bangladesh recently, with better access, inclusion and a consistently
developing web population the prospect for e-commerce is splendidly growing for the last couple
of years.

Presently utilization of technology in every single part has been exceptionally common. In this
time of globalization, we can barely discover any part working without utilizing technology. A
new horizon has been opened up for business, to be specific online business by none other than
one and only internet. Online business involves the utilization of the internet in the marketing,
identification, Payment and delivery of product and services all are finished by online business
utilizing the web. In Bangladesh a population of 165 million with 33% mobile internet users, the
E-business market is by all means considerably potential in up and coming days.

The buyers and sellers both have much power nowadays as a result of the massive utilization of
ground-breaking technologies just as the internet. A large portion of the business at present is
working under the online business or e-business criteria over digital networks. The quantities of e-
business sites and e-business pages are 2500 and 150000 respectively. Of them the market share
of Daraz is estimated to be 40 percent. Both foreign investors and our government are playing a
vital role to boom the e-commerce sector of Bangladesh. To support the home-developed investors,
the government rolled out the long-awaited National Digital Commerce Policy. The new policy
does not enable outside foreign investors to hold a stake of over 49% in any E-commerce business
in Bangladesh. This approach was taken to protect and boost the local investors.

As indicated by market analysts, Bangladesh’s E-commerce business market will flood to USD 20
billion by 2020. So, we can hope that Bangladesh is stepping towards a bright side of online
business.

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1.2 Objectives of the study
The main objective of the study is to know the present state of the online businesses in Sylhet
district. We conducted the research among 25 persons. The research shows that the online business
is increasing in Sylhet district. The particular objectives are given below:

1. Knowing the uses of online business.

2. Knowing the probability and prospects of online business.
3. Knowing about the availability of services.
4. Comparing online business with traditional business.
5. Examining people’s acceptance of online business.
6. People’s satisfaction with online business.

1.3 Methodology of the study

Research methodology is the specific procedure or techniques used to identify, select, process
and analyze information about a topic. For our desired outcome we have taken some steps to
identify data and information regarding “The Status of Online Business”.

 Research methods-

Research methods are the strategies, process or techniques utilized in the collection of data or
evidence for analysis in order to uncover new information or create better understanding of a
topic. For our topic we used mixed methods. Mixed methods research integrates both Qualitative
and Quantitative research. It provides a holistic approach combining and analyzing the statistical
data with insights. We have collected primary data from survey using questionnaire and direct
observation. The secondary source of data has come from research through internet, journals,
related studies and other source of information.

 Data collection methods:

1. Primary data collection-
Primary data comes from the real information from consumers. A questionnaire is used for this.

 Designing questionnaire- For getting primary data, questionnaire is very important. In this
survey, different types of question have been used.

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 2. Secondary data collection-
This source of data had come from different types of online journal, internet, newspaper and other
sources of information.

The study put its primary focus to have an overview about the situation of online business in Sylhet
district. In this research we have collected data from various sources.

 The survey was conducted with 25 persons around this region.

 We have compared online business with traditional business for consumer purpose.

1.4 Scope of the study

Online business has become an integral part of the modern business sector. It saves our time.
Besides, it has proved to be a profitable business sector. So, we are interested to examine the online
business services available in Sylhet. For collecting necessary information related to our topics,
we interviewed some people mainly based on seven sectors of online business available in Sylhet
city namely- food, transport, shopping, online money transfer, entertainment, e-education
and freelancing. We collected information by preparing questionnaire for our primary data
collection.

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 CHAPTER-TWO
SECTORS SPECIFICATION OF ONLINE BUSINESS

Sectors of online business:

2.1 Food
2.2 Transport
2.3 Shopping
2.4 Money transfer
2.5 Entertainment
2.6 E-education
2.7 Freelancing

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2.1 Food:
A number of online food delivery service sprung up recently with great prevision to often. A few
of these online foodies have managed to reach the satisfactory level. Those are as below

1. Foodpanda.
2. Food Bite
3. Fast delivery
4. Hungry Naki
5. Pathao Food
But in Sylhet mostly used services are as below-

1. Foodpanda:
Food Panda is one of the most popular online food delivery services in Bangladesh. Currently, it
is offering delivery service in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Once you open the app it gives you
the option to manually set your location or it will locate you using GPS. After setting locations
click on the show restaurants button to show the restaurants at your nearest proximity. Find the
most suitable restaurant and just order on the go; as simple as that. You can pay bills by your
credit/debit cards or cash on delivery.

2. Fast delivery:
This is another online food delivery service that is popular among different people in Sylhet. The
service providing system is similar as foodpanda. Now one can enjoy his/her favourite food from
desired restaurant with the help of this service. And the service charge is affordable for the
customers also.

2.2 Transport:
Ride Sharing service is becoming more and more familiar and interesting to the citizens of every
busy town and cities. Ride sharing service is totally free and depends on the rider and driver. Its
fully functional on internet. Both biller and rider have to install apps to use this service. Pathao,
Uber and OBhai together are leading the country and moving Bangladesh.

1. Pathao:
Pathao provides on demand ride Sharing service through motor cycles and cars. Both the driver
and the passenger require to have an android on IOS internet and GPS enabled smartphone in order
to avail the service. Pathao uses a similar algorithm like Uber and Lyft to match the passenger with
a driver nearby heading towards the destination. It has more than 50,000 registered vehicles across
the country. The company has around 30,000 riders and users measured based on the member of
downloads of their apps.

2. Uber:
Uber’s explosive growth and constant controversy made it one of the most fascinating companies
to emerge over the past decade. To use Uber, you have to download the app and sign up by
providing an e-mail address, personal information and credit card information. Users make trip
requests through the app, providing their location.

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 3. Obhai
Obhai is a ride-sharing app enabling passengers to select a car, microbus, motorbike, and CNG
auto-rickshaw upon specifying the destination. Obhai’s mission is to offer safe, reliable and
convenient transportation to everyone all across Bangladesh.
As Sylhet is a small city in Bangladesh, there has some problem in transportation system. Pathao,
Uber, Obhai do provide their service in Sylhet; but do not get so popularity because the city is to
small and people has available transport to travel here.

2.3 Shopping:

Online Shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods
or services from a seller over the internet using web browser. Consumer finds a product of interest
buy visiting the website of the retailer directly or buy searching among alternative vendor. Online
stores usually enable shoppers to use “Search” features to find specific models, brand or items.
Online Customer must have access to the internet and valid method of payment on order to
complete a transaction, such as a credit card or debit card, cash on delivery. There are many online
shop like shadmart.com, Daraz.com, Ajkerdeal.com, Bagdom.com, Pickaboo,com Rokomari.com,
KhassFood.com, Othoba.com.

1. Daraz.com:
Being one of the most pioneer and popular online stores in Bangladesh Daraz.com.bd offers a
broad range of products starling from electronics, fashion, home appliances, kids’ items, decor,
beauty and health and much more. A customer can shop via multiple methods as cash on delivery,
Payment via swap on delivery, Credit/Debit cards, bkash or mobile Banking and internet Banking.
Daraz.com.bd delivers the ordered product within 2-4 days inside Dhaka and 5-8 days outside
Dhaka. If a customer is not satisfied with is product, he can even return it within 7 days from
delivery date.

2. Rokomari.com:
Rokomari.com is the first ever enriched online bookstore in Bangladesh. Offering a wide range of
genre. Rokomari.com has a book for everyone. From Science Fiction to literature from history to
religion, everyone can find the perfect category he/she is looking for. Rokomari.com has a happy
return and refund policy within d days of order received to date. Rokomari.com has various
payment options from cash on delivery to bkash, Visa Card, DBBL etc.

2.4 Online money transfer:

This is the sending of money instantaneously by transferring data that represents a cash amount.
This involves no paperwork. Advantages of this mode of money transfer are- speed and efficiency,
security, 24/7 hour service, low overheads meaning low service fees, larger access, pay bills online,
user-friendly.

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 1. bkash
bkash Limited is a Bank-led Mobile Financial Service Provider in Bangladesh operating under the
license and approval of the Central Bank as a subsidiary of BRAC Bank Limited. At present, bkash
is one of the leading Mobile Financial Services Provider in the world. Bkash started as a joint
venture between BRAC Bank Limited, Bangladesh and Money in Motion LLC, USA in 2010. In
April 2013, IFC became an equity partner and in March 2014, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
became the investor of the company. Registering for bkash and cashing-in services are free of
charge. For P2P transfers, customers pay a flat fee of BDT 5irrespective of the size of the
transaction. In case of customer cash-out there is a flat fee of 1.85% on the amount withdrawn.
The ultimate objective of bkash is to ensure access to a broader range of financial services for the
people of Bangladesh. It has a special focus to serve the low-income masses of the country.

2. Nagad
Aiming to lead the country’s booming Digital Financial Service (DFS) revolution, Nagad is a
venture by the Bangladesh Post Office that facilitates the day-to-day financial needs of the people.
Nagad brand is operated by Third Wave Technologies Limited (TWTL). Tanvir A Mishuk is the
founder, managing director of Nagad. Nagad is soon to bring very exciting and innovative services
in the market to meet customer needs and demands.

3. Rocket
Dutch Bangla Mobile Banking, the second largest mobile banking service in the country has
rebranded to Rocket. DBBL launched mobile banking service back in 2012 in partnership with
Airtel initially. To provide banking and financial services, such as cash-in, cash-out, merchant
payment, utility payment, salary disbursement, foreign remittance, government allowance
disbursement, ATM money withdrawal through mobile technology devices, i.e. mobile phone, is
called Rocket. Customer can transfer money from bank account to Rocket account or Rocket
account to bank account or to any DBBL Debit Card through Dutch Bangla Bank Rocket.

2.5 Entertainment:
The entertainment industry is fueled not just by creativity but also by leadership and strategy.
Online entertainment business is another popular business sector. The online entertainment
provides more creative and good content. These contents are more realistic and based on good
storyline and good direction. They also provide various genera of movie, short-film, drama, web
series, reality show and many other contents.

At online entertainment sites people have to login to the respected website. They have to register
themselves and have to pay money online. When they complete this process, they can enjoy
unlimited amount of new and fresh content. At this time this is one of the popular entertainment
forms. People might stay busy all day, at the end of the day they get time for themselves. They
want to enjoy their favorite content which is not available on the TV always. At the online sites
they can get any movie, video, series on their demand. They can watch it anytime anywhere even
they can repeat it and even can save it to watch later. For these various features people are getting
interested in online entertainment. Even online entertainment site maintains privacy of their
customer to get customer satisfaction. There are many online entertainment sites such as Netflix,
Bioscope. iflix, hoichoi, rabbithole etc.

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 2.6 E-education:

E-education or e-learning is the delivery of education or any type of training by electronic teaching
methods. This electronic method can be a computer or a smartphone where a teaching maternal is
accessed by use of the interest usually.

ICT has become an important enabler to facilitate open education and distance learning at broader
communities. E-leaning ensures access to information about education, training and life-long
learning through the use of multimedia technologies. The recent growing trend of e-learning is
mostly benefiting the developed countries due to some predominant facilities like in fan structure,
technology, relevant content and responsive learner community. The beauty of e-learning is
anyone can avail himself of the service of e-learning/teaching aid from anywhere, as there is no
geographic barrier among the learners.

There are few major issues like national strategy, connectivity, accreditation, acceptability, quality
of the leaning materials and relevant contents that have to be considered for any e-learning program
for Bangladesh. So, for the developing countries we need to reframe the e-learning mechanisms to
reach the communities.

Example: 10MS, Onnorokom pathshala, E-shikhon.com

2.7 Freelancing
An independent contractor is a self-employed individual who doesn’t have to commit to a single,
long-term employer. Instead they work independently or several different companies or clients. It
is called freelancer. Freelancers typically change by the hour or day and are not required to register
as a business if they operate under their own name.

At this time freelancing is the most common in culture and creative industry. A freelancer open an
account and create a profile and a company. They got connected with others freelancing sites.
Through these sites they get works for different sectors. Depending on the work they create their
reputation. A freelancer is a creative artist. He copyrights his own work. Freelancer get payment
through their freelancing account. They collect the money through Pay-Pal. They complete task
for someone according to the requirement and get Paid. On the base of their work they might get
higher money. They complete their work exactly at the requirement. Sometimes freelancer do work
at fee of cost to build-up reputation and to make good relation with client.

At freelancing a freelancer is his own boss. He doesn’t have to work under any authority. He works
and he gets Paid. Freelancer might get 10$ per hour at very high standard. Low cost suppliers
fervently offer works at rate as $1-$2 per hour. Internet is the biggest market place for freelancer.
They provide service and earn. According to a survey in 2014 more than 100 million people are
involved in this job. At this time 16% of total freelancer makes at least 75000$ per year. There are
many popular freelancing websites such as Freelancer.com, Upwork, people.per hour, Toptel,
99designs, flexjob corporation etc.

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 CHAPTER- THREE
OPERATIONAL BACKGROUND

3.1 Investment
3.2 Security
3.3 Manpower
3.4 Prospect
3.5 Challenges
3.6 Quality

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3.1 Investment
An investment refers simply to the action or process of devoting time, money or resources to
something in the hopes that is could be profitable.

According to a survey 40% of the small and medium companies began the business for under $4k
and 64% of organizations have spent less than 10k. And the bigger online protocol got various
investment from various investors. Clearly good funds will allow you to relax and enjoy life more
but there are great services today to help you maneuver in to the e-commerce world. So, setting up
an online business doesn’t have to be expensive, this obviously applies to individuals who are not
looking to establish a very large online business. Creating a simple online business doesn’t require
a lot of capital however entrepreneurs must be willing to spend over a certain amount, depending
how far they want their business to go. At this time there are lots of established online business all
over the world including in Bangladesh which got a lot of investment.

Now they are expending their online business and providing services and selling goods to the more
customers. Up to base their service quality they are capturing market. People are also getting
interested into doing online business. According to their business they are getting various amount
of investment from various investor.

3.2 Security
Security or trust is one of the most important factors in online business. Because when a customer
feels secure to purchase a product in an online page then he purchases more product from this
page. Like a new online store for the very first time. Customer knows nothing about brand, the
quality of its product brings customer satisfaction. Like most shoppers, customer would probably
search for reviews from past customers, looking for any proof that the business meets their needs.
The massive increase in the uptake of online business has led to a new generation of associated
security threats, but any e-business system must meet four integral requirements:
 Privacy- information exchanged must be kept from unauthorized parties
 Integrity- the exchanged information must not be altered or tampered with
 Authentication- both sender and recipient must prove their identities to each other
 Non-repudiation- proof is required that the exchanged information was indeed received.

3.3 Manpower
Manpower indicates the number of people working or available for work or services. For operating
any business one needs enough manpower who are trained well for performing that sophisticated
job. Large online business companies also need a big workforce or manpower. The impact of
technology on the labor market has changed the workforce in this sector and there is the need for
both more technical skills and an always-learning mindset. Large companies like Amazon, Alibaba
etc face a greater need for technical skills in the workplace than ever before. They want to hire,
develop, and retain the best talent in order to continue to invent on behalf of their customers. But
it is possible to do an online business without manpower and infrastructure.

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Food:- The online food delivery services need a large amount of manpower as delivery person.
They also need more staff to communicate with restaurant and to operate, maintain the business.

Transport:- In this sector, a large number of riders are needed to provide services to customers.
They also need employees to conduct administrative work.

Shopping:- Workforce is needed as delivery person, administrative support. They need more
manpower to communicate and conduct transaction.

Online money transfer:- Here manpower is needed as agents, salesman and for administrative
purposes. They also need engineers to fix up their technical issues. Manpower is also needed for
marketing purpose.

Entertainment:- Here they need people as content creator, for performing banking, marketing and
technical issues.

E-education:- In this sector, they need people as content creator, representative. They also
perform campaigns. They need skilled people for technical issues and marketing ideas.

Freelancing:- This sector provides task for people and thus creates job scopes. Young people who
are skilled at technological sector are getting more opportunities of earning through freelancing.

3.4 Prospects

Business is not easy. In fact, it will be hardest thing you will ever get into your life. 3 out of 10
businesses fade in the first few years. Online business is not different. It all comes down to you as
a leader, as an owner, as an entrepreneur. It is highly competitive. Having a passion driving you
for your business will definitely give you a better competitive edge.
We don’t have to run our entire business over the internet to benefit from online business
opportunities. Small business might only need an email address to communicate with their client,
customer and supplies electronically. Other business might use their website to conduct their entire
business online.
The Many benefits of online business include:
 global access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
 improved client service through greater flexibility
 cost savings
 faster delivery of product
 Increased professionalism
 less paper waste
 opportunities to manage our business from anywhere in the world.

Customers may prefer to visit website to find out about available products and services, instead of
visiting in person. They will also expect to see entrepreneur’s website address and e-mail address
on business cards and other promotional materials. Besides, online business is easy to get started
with little cost involved. There is unlimited income potential in doing business online. Righteous

20
use of sources will pave higher income path. Online businesses can also be automated. As long as
you have a computer and internet access, it doesn’t matter where you are- if you run an online
business, you can work from anywhere in the world. Moreover, online business is one kind of asset
as once you have things in place, you can sell your business to someone else. At the same time,
running online business is fun, it’s mentally stimulating and the entrepreneur is a lot more creative
than s/he would be with any standard 9-to-5 career.

Online Business opportunities:

 run an online shop
 manage your suppliers
 communicate with customers and their feedback on business
 offer services online
 allow customer to make reservation
 mange finance, such as online banking, tax and employee pay
 research competitors
Online business has a very good probability. At this time this is the most incredibly sector of
business. Day by day people are getting interested in doing online business. They are also getting
supports from other sides. So online business has a great prospect all over the world also in
Bangladesh.

3.5 Challenges

1. Security:
One of the main limitations of e-business is security. In most cases, people are hesitant to provide
their personal & financial details in spite of advanced data encryption security systems in place.
Moreover, there are some websites that do not have the capability and features installed to
authenticate transaction. The fear of providing financial information like credit card details hinders
the growth of online business.
2. Lack of privacy:
To some extent, the privacy of a customer is compromised in online business. You need to provide
your personal details, such as address, telephone number and so on to the seller. There are still
sites that do not have the advanced technology to protect sensitive information. Moreover, there
are also sites that illegally collect consumer statistics without permission. This is one reason why
people get skeptical while using online business.
3.Tax issues:
In case of different geographical locations, sales tax becomes an issue. Many time sellers have
faced problems in the computation of sales tax. Moreover, physical stores have a risk of losing
business if online transaction are exempted from taxation.
4. Fear:
In spite of popularity, there still resides an element of doubt in the mind of people when it comes
to online business. This is because the customer can not physically examine the product and is not
sure about the features and attributes. This is why a lot of people prefer shopping from the physical
stores.

21
5. Product suitability:
As already mentioned, it is not possible for people to physically examine the product in online
business. In many cases, the original product may not match with the picture or specifications in
the online business site. This absence of touch and feel creates a discouraging effect.
6. Cultural obstacles:
As the process of online business compasses customers across the globe, the habits, traditions and
the culture differ. There may also be linguistic problem and all these may lead to issues between
the seller and buyer.
7. Legal Issues:
A lot of legal compliances and cyber laws that need to be taken care of in an online business. These
regulations may vary county to country.
8. Technical Limitation:
Online business requires advanced technology platforms for better performance. Some limitations,
such as lack of proper domain, network and software issues affect the performance.

3.6Quality
Nowadays online business is very popular all over the world. A customer finds many qualities
when he/she buys a product from online. Sites are doing many things for making online shop
successful.

1. Product review:
Product description’s something that holds the whole description of any specific product. It can
convince folks to part with the site’s money. Reviews produce an average rate increase in sales.
Customers prefer sites that offer review. Customer are also more likely to make a purchase from a
site which has users reviews.
2. Easy Payment Process:
One of the best ways to increase conversations and sales is to make it hilariously easy for folks to
pay customer. An online shop should have several payment methods available. Don’t force people
to sign up. Don’t force unnecessary information. When one starts an online shop the person has to
maintain good quality product. The page has to maintain time management, creativity, design
shouldn’t be distracting from shopping.

22
 CHAPTER-FOUR
SECTOR WISE DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 Sector wise analysis

23
Food

We have interviewed 25 people. Food is the most used online business service sector. We have
compared different online food services – foodpanda, fast delivery and others. In Sylhet, the users
of foodpanda holds the greatest percentage, that is 72%. The delivery time is quite satisfactory.
Most of the user assured that the food quality is up to restaurant standard.

Restaurant
User Delivery Time standard
Foodpanda Fast Delivery Others 30 mins 45 mins 1 hr Yes No
18 3 4 5 18 2 22 3

Users are quite satisfied with the service of different food delivery services in Sylhet as per our
interview.

The following chart shows the comparison of the three factors stated above.

FOOD
25
22

20 18 18

15

10
5
4
5 3 3
2

0
No
Fast Delivery

Others

30 mins

45 mins

1 hr

Yes
Foodpanda

User Delivery Time Restaurant standard

From this graph we can say that fast delivery and other food delivery services have to take
necessary steps to increase their customer number. Overall, online food delivery service has a
bright future in Sylhet.

24
Transport

Although transport service has not reached its peak in small cities like Sylhet, many people are
using ride sharing services like Pathao, Uber, Obhai here. This service has not expanded in Sylhet
yet, but we are hopeful that in near future it will prove to be a profitable business in this city also.
We have come to know about the following information through our interview:

User Pickup Time Cheaper

2-5 5-10 >10
Pathao Obhai Uber mins mins mins Yes No
18 3 4 4 18 3 16 9

The percentage of Pathao user is highest. The pickup time is satisfactory for the customers. But
the customers are in dilemma with the cost of the service.

Here is a chart showing the comparison of the above factors:

TRANSPORT
20 18 18
18 16
16
14
12
10 9
8
6 4 4
4 3 3
2
0
Pathao Obhai Uber 2-5 mins 5-10 mins >10 mins Yes No
User Pickup Time Cheaper

Though there is a two-dimensional thought regarding the fare of ride sharing services, they save
time of the customer and for this reason this online service is on use. But to increase the business
span the service provider should minimize the fare.

25
Shopping

In shopping sector, we have compared three factors- user number, price comparison and whether
the online service provider delivers the promised product or not. There are mixed types of users in
shopping sector. Daraz has a huge following in Sylhet and in the country as a whole. People are
not consentient about the price of the products available online. Most people agree that the online
shops deliver their promised products.

Delivers promised
User Cheaper product
Daraz Rokomari Others Yes No Yes No
14 6 5 16 9 19 6

The following chart will show the comparison clearly-

Shopping
20 19
18 16
16 14
14
12
10 9
8 6 6
6 5
4
2
0
Daraz Rokomari Others Yes No Yes No
User Cheaper Delivers promised
product

We can say that people are optimistic about the service provided by the online shops. Also, there
are many small online shops which are giving their customers good service. Sometimes for gaining
greater amount of profit online shop deceives the customers. But to go on in the long run businesses
should avoid this ill-practice. Overall, online shops are in a good position here.

26
Money transfer

Online money transfer services are very popular among the students and other people. There are
three most common services, they are bkash, Rocket and Nagad. We have compared these three
services among themselves and found the following results:

User Available Online payment

Bkash 14 18 17
Rocket 7 5 8
Nagad 4 2 0

We can see that the users of bkash holds the highest position. Bkash is also highly available in
everywhere. We can find the agents of bkash at each and every important point. It may also be
included that Nagad isn’t available for online payment. We can illustrate the above data as below
for better observation:

MONEY TRANSFER
20 18
18 17
16 14
14
12
10 8
8 7
6 5
4
4 2
2 0
0
User Available Online payment

Bkash Rocket Nagad

We can see that in all the three sectors of comparison, bkash holds the first place. Rocket is at a
moderate position in the market. But Nagad is lagging behind in this competition. So to keep pace
with the competitive market Nagad has to put more efforts.

27
Entertainment

Through our interview we have found that the people of Sylhet do use online entertainment
business services. The mostly used services in this sector are Netflix, Bioscope, Iflix. The numbers
of users of all these three services hold good positions in the market. The contents of Netflix are
better than the others. At the same time, Netflix is expensive and inconvenient to use also. Netflix
accepts debit card, credit card or PayPal for payment, while bioscope and iflix supports credit card.

User Good content Convenient & cheaper

Netflix 12 18 2
Bioscope 8 5 8
Iflix 5 2 15

This data gives us interesting view about entertainment sector. While content wise Netflix has left
the other two services behind, in convenience and cost the other two services left it behind. The
above data can be shown as below for a crystal-clear idea.

ENTERTAINMENT
20 18
18
16 15
14 12
12
10 8 8
8
6 5 5
4 2 2
2
0
User Good content Convenient & cheaoer

Netflix Bioscope Iflix

People who are fond of good contents but can’t afford Netflix, can go for Bioscope. Bioscope and
iflix both are Bangladeshi online service provider. We can also see that iflix is highly affordable.
Overall, though being a foreign business Netflix has occupied a great position in the market.

28
E-education

In education sector we have taken three services – 10 minute school, E-shikhon, Onnorokom
pathshala. These 3 online businesses have gained huge followers. Through our interview, we have
come to know about the following factors-

User Creative Versatile content

10 MS 10 10 14
E-shikhon 4 3 2
Onnorokom pathshala 8 7 4

10 minute school and Onnorokom pathshala both have the same numbers of users. In the race of
content, we can see that 10 MS has both creative and versatile contents. The data can be shown in
the following graph-

E-EDUCATION
18 17
16
14 13
12 11
10
10 9
8
6
6
4
4 3
2
2
0
User Creative Versatile content

10 MS E-shikhon Onnorokom pathshala

Ayman Sadiq, the entrepreneur and CEO of 10MS has enriched the contents of this educational
platform and so it has gained popularity among different types of students and also teachers. Huge
businesses like Khan Academy lags behind in comparison with the Bangladeshi businesses.

29
Freelancing

In our interview we have found that many people of this region use freelancing services for earning
money. Many students use this as a part-time earning source. Here Upwork, Toptel,
Freelancer.com have huge followings. We have gained the following data from our interview-

User Earning Versatile

5000- 10000-
Upwork Toptel Freelancer.com 10000 15000 >15000 Upwork Toptel Freelancer.com

18 2 5 6 16 3 18 2 5

We can see that Upwork users hold the greatest number. Freelancing can be a great source for
earning for students. The information can be shown as below-

FREELANCING
20 18 18
16
18
16
14
12
10
8 6
5 5
6 3
4 2 2
2
0
>15000
Upwork

Toptel

5000-10000

10000-15000

Upwork

Toptel
Freelancer.com

Freelancer.com

User Earning Versatile

Freelancers can easily earn 5000-10000 tk through the work. Even if anyone performs complex
works or overtime, he can earn even more than 15000 tk. We can see that Upwork is more versatile
than the other two businesses and may be that’s the reason that it has the highest percentage in
users.

30
 CHAPTER-FIVE

SECTOR WISE FINDINGS

5.1 Sector wise findings

31
5.1 Sector wise Findings
Throughout our study and survey, we have come across many important information. We have
deduced various known and unknown lackings in the states of online business in Sylhet district.
We have deduced these results by gathering primary data from our questionnaire and secondary
data from newspapers, journals, internet and other sources of information. The following data has
been presented in a logical sequence without any bias.

Food:-

 The maximum customers are students.

 The timing of delivery is at satisfactory level.
 Quality of delivered food maintains restaurant standard.
 People are not quite satisfied about the quantity of delivered food.

Transport:-

 Most of the users think that online transport is not cheaper than traditional system.
 The transport companies don’t take the complaints seriously.
 This is the faster than the traditional mode of transportation.

Shopping:-

 Most of the users are educated.

 Sometimes online shopping doesn’t provide the promised product.
 Online shopping is cheaper than traditional shopping.
 Most of the customers are satisfied.

Money Transfer:-

 The online money transfer system is very available everywhere.

 It is easy to use.
 The online money transfer has lack of security.
 It has an option for online payment.

Entertainment:-

 Online entertainment service has provided some good and convenient content.
 It can be used anywhere anytime.
 It provides a wide collection of content.
 It also provides a selection of questionable content.

32
E-education:-

 Online education services have more creative and useful with versatile content.
 Most of the users are satisfied with this facility.
 It allows one to continue their studies from their homes.
 It may promote virtual addiction.

Freelancing:-

 Freelancing has opened up lots of new career opportunities.

 They fulfill their commitment to their service holders.
 The skill range for the jobs range from unskilled to very skilled.
 There is a prominent security concern.

33
 CHAPTER-SIX

SECTOR WISE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

6.1 Recommendations
6.2 Conclusion

34
6.1 Recommendations
Food:-

 The quantity of the delivered food should be sufficient.

 They should be more transparent towards their customers.
Transport:-

 They should take their complaints more seriously.

 Their services should be made cheaper.

Shopping:-

 They should make sure to deliver the promised products.

 The products should be delivered on time.

Money Transfer:-

 They should fix up their security issues.

 They should take their complaints from customers more seriously.

Entertainment:-

 They should filter their questionable content more diligently.

 They should reduce their subscription fees to some extent.

E-education:-

 They should reduce the ads in their websites.

 Their services should be made more practical.

Freelancing:-

 They should fix up their security issues.

 They should make their payment system more convenient.

35
6.2 Conclusion
Our study was carried out in Sylhet district on consumers. We collected primary information from
various persons. During the study we observed the online businesses in this region. We found that
the online business is increasing eventually. We also observed people are interested in using online
businesses. The service providers are trying to fulfill their promises to the consumers. The
advantages of online business are global reach, speed and flexibility, availability of more
information. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages too; such as lack of security, sensory
limitations etc. But it gives us a hope that new ideas and opportunity are reducing these lackings.
The service providers have some technical issues which troubles the consumers. Also, the service
providers should take the consumer’s complaints seriously. Otherwise, the consumers might lose
their trust from online businesses. Now-a-days, online businesses are getting more technical
supports.

In conclusion, we have discussed the states of online business with all the necessary details, and
presented the most important reasons for the need to use the internet for business development. It
was proved that the internet significantly alters the spatial and temporal scale of commerce. The
distance between the seller and the buyer plays a role only in terms of transport costs on the stage
of delivery of goods, and this moment allows online companies to calculate the own profits and
not to assess damages.

We would say that the internet, with all its advantages, is the future where consumer can shop the
world.

36
Reference:
1. www.quora.com
2. www.thedailystar.net
3. www.prothomalo.com
4. Ministry of Information & Communication Technology
5. www.daraz.com
6. Ministry of Food & Transport
7. www.bkash.com
8. www.foodpanda.com
9. www.rokomari.com
10. www.bikroy.com
11. www.somokal.com
12. www.10minuteschool.com
13. www.upwork.com
14. The fast path to corporate growth: leveraging knowledge and technologies to new market
applications (Meyer Merchant)
15. www.business.gov.bc
16. http://smallbiztrends.com
17. http://historycooperative.org
18. http://www.businessnewsdaily.com

37
 QUESTIONNAIRE (For consumer purpose)
ONLINE BUSINESS

Personal Information
1. Name-
2. Age-
i. 15-20 ii. 20-25 iii. 25-30 iv. Above 30
3. Occupation-
i. Student ii. Housewife iii. Business iv. Other job
4. Gender-
i. Male ii. Female
5. Education-
i. Primary ii. Secondary iii. Higher

Other information
1. Which segments of online business are mostly used by you?
i. Food ii. Transport iii. Shopping iv. Money transfer v.
Entertainment
vi. E-education vii. Freelancing
2. How often do you use online business?
i. Often ii. Quite often iii. Moderately often iv. Slightly often
v. Not at all
3. Do you think online business is cheaper than traditional system?
i. Yes ii. No
4. What are your biggest concerns about using online business services?
________________
5. How do you pay for your online business services?
i. Cash on delivery ii. Card iii. Online money transfer
6. Do you think that your personal information is kept confidential while using online
business service?
i. Yes ii. No
7. How long does it take to make a purchase decision?
__________
8. Do you agree that your online business service providers are fulfilling their
commitment?
i. Agree ii. Disagree
9. How does they deal with your complaints?
i. Promptly responses ii. Take long time iii. Doesn’t response
10. Do you think that government is doing its enough to promote online business?
i. Yes ii. No

38
 11. Do you think that online business has its advantage over traditional commercial
method?
i. Yes ii. No

Food:
1. Which food delivery service do you use mostly?
i. Foodpanda ii. Fast delivery
2. How much time does it take to deliver?
i. 20 minutes ii. 30 minutes iii. 45 minutes iv. 1 hour and more
3. Is the food quality up to the restaurant quality?
i. Yes ii. No

Transport:
1. Which online transport service do you use mostly?
i. Pathao ii. Obhai iii. Uber
2. How much time does it take to pick you up?
i. 5 minutes ii. 10 minutes iii. 15 minutes iv. More than 15 minutes
3. Is it cheaper than other regular transport?
i. Yes ii. No

Shopping:
1. Which online website do you use mostly?
i. Daraz ii. Rokomari iii. Others
2. Does the online website deliver the promised product?
i. Yes ii. No
3. Does the product justify the price?
i. Yes ii. No

Money transfer:
1. Which service do you use?
i. Bkash ii. Rocket iii. Nagad
2. Which service is more available?
i. Bkash ii. Rocket iii. Nagad
3. Which service is easy to use for online payment?
ii. Bkash ii. Rocket iii. Nagad
Entertainment:

1. Which service do you use?

i. Netflix ii. Bioscope iii. iflix

39
 2. Which one has better contents?
i. Netflix ii. Bioscope iii. iflix
3. Which is more convenient & cheaper?
i. Netflix ii. Bioscope iii. iflix
E-education:

1. Which website do you use?

i. 10 minutes school ii. E-shikhon iii. Onnorokom pathshala
2. Which one is more creative & useful?
i. 10 minutes school ii. E-shikhon iii. Onnorokom pathshala
3. Which one has more versatile content?
i. 10MS ii. E-shikhon iii. Onnorokom pathshala

Freelancing:

1. Which website do you use?

i. Upwork ii. Toptel iii. Freelancer.com
2. How much do you earn monthly from freelancing?
i. 5000-10000 ii. 10000-15000 iii. More than 15000
3. Which is more versatile?
i. Upwork ii. Toptel iii. Freelancer.com

40